Americans United - Crosshttps://www.au.org/tags/cross
enKeyser, WVhttps://www.au.org/our-work/legal/successes/keyser-wv
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>AU received a complaint that the Mineral County Commission granted permission to a local church to place a seven-foot cross on the lawn of the Mineral County Courthouse from March 17 to March 24 in order to commemorate the Easter holiday. In a letter objecting to the plan, AU explained that the display would send the unequivocal message that one religion, Christianity, enjoys favored status with the government of Mineral County. The cross was not erected.</p></div></div><span class="field"><span class="date-display-single">March 2008</span></span><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/government-sponsored-religious-displays">Government-Sponsored Religious Displays</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/cross">Cross</a></span></div></div>Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:36:13 +0000Americans United5797 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/our-work/legal/successes/keyser-wv#commentsCross Purposes: Battle Over Religious Symbol Ends Happily In Arizona Townhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/cross-purposes-battle-over-religious-symbol-ends-happily-in-arizona-town
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Government buildings belong to all of the people, Christian and non-Christian.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>On Monday, "The Wall of Separation" explored a flap over a cross being displayed at a government building in Camp Verde, Ariz., a small city of about 10,000 in the central part of the state.</p>
<p>As Sandhya Bathija <a href="http://blog.au.org/2009/07/13/camp-controversy-arizona-town-debates-display-of-cross/">noted</a>, the town council was due to deliberate the matter; she expressed hope that its members would make the right decision.</p>
<p>Today I'm happy to report that they did.</p>
<p>Here's a quick recap of the controversy: The cross had been hanging in the town's community center for four years. A local religious group called Bread of Life put it there. Bread of Life sometimes held events at the center and wanted to have a cross up during those times.</p>
<p>A local resident (who has remained anonymous) notified Americans United. We sent a letter to the city's Parks and Recreation Department, requesting that the constitutional separation of church and state be respected and that the cross be removed.</p>
<p>Town Manager Mike Scannell agreed with AU's legal analysis and said the cross should come down. But some people in the community got worked up over the matter, and one member of the council, Norma Garrison, publicly criticized Scannell's decision.</p>
<p>As is often the case with these matters, some of the debate wasn't exactly elevated. Some residents of the community wrote uninformed letters to the editor <a href="http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&amp;SubSectionID=73&amp;ArticleID=23673&amp;TM=77314.39">attacking</a> the anonymous complainant and <a href="http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&amp;subsectionID=73&amp;articleID=23675">spreading</a> bogus history.</p>
<p>About 70 people even <a href="http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&amp;subsectionID=1&amp;articleID=23670">marched</a> on the town hall, demanding that the cross remain in place.</p>
<p>But not everyone agreed with those sentiments. A local newspaper <a href="http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&amp;SubSectionID=73&amp;ArticleID=23660">editorialized</a> in AU's favor, and a Baptist minister wrote a thought-provoking column pointing out that government-sponsored religion is of no value to the church.</p>
<p>"American theology's unique contribution to the world's understanding of Christianity was the formal recognition that the only genuine conversion is a free conversion," <a href="http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&amp;subsectionID=73&amp;articleID=23705">wrote</a> the Rev. Brian A. LeStourgeon, pastor of Camp Verde Baptist Church. "If government formally enforced a form of Christianity, then non-believers were not truly free to hear and respond to the genuine good news of Jesus Christ. Theologically speaking, government interference corrupts the purity of the gospel."</p>
<p>The council met on Wednesday night. As the local media <a href="http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&amp;subsectionID=1&amp;articleID=31835">reported</a>, it quickly became clear that Garrison was the only member of the council who took issue with Scannell's decision to remove the cross. After a brief discussion, the matter was considered closed. The cross would stay down.</p>
<p>We salute the council for its action. Government buildings belong to all of the people, Christian and non-Christian, and we're pleased the community's leaders had the wisdom to understand this.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-mottos-pledges-and-resolutions">Religious Mottos, Pledges and Resolutions</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/arizona">Arizona</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/camp-verde">Camp Verde</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/cross">Cross</a></span></div></div>Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:00:29 +0000Rob Boston2000 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/cross-purposes-battle-over-religious-symbol-ends-happily-in-arizona-town#commentsCamp Controversy: Arizona Town Debates Display Of Crosshttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/camp-controversy-arizona-town-debates-display-of-cross
<a href="/about/people/bathija">Sandhya Bathija</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Here at Americans United, we always know that the fight to preserve church-state separation is never easy.</p>
<p>That's why we aren't surprised by what's going on in Camp Verde, Ariz., where many citizens are making quite a stir because a cross was removed from a government building.</p>
<p>For four years, the Christian symbol hung in the town's community center. Earlier this month, a resident complained, and Americans United sent a letter to the Parks and Recreation Department requesting that the cross be taken down. The Constitution, our lawyers explained, prohibits the government from favoring one religion over others (or religion over non-religion).</p>
<p>Town Manager Mike Scannell agreed with AU's legal analysis and requested that the owners of the cross, a local religious group called Bread of Life, remove the symbol. Bread of Life could use the symbol during its own events at the facility but would have to remove it once those events were over.</p>
<p>Since hearing this decision, some Camp Verde citizens have turned this into what a <a href="http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&amp;SubSectionID=73&amp;ArticleID=23660">local newspaper</a> calls "politically religious hay out of what should have been a non-issue."</p>
<p>That's because, as always, some people think following the Constitution is up for debate.</p>
<p>"[Scannell] just sees this as a legal issue," <a href="http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&amp;SubSectionID=1&amp;ArticleID=31654">said</a> Council Member Norma Garrison. "I think my rights are being stepped on."</p>
<p>Garrison said Scannell didn't have the authority to have the cross removed, and now, the council will take up the issue later this week.</p>
<p>In preparation for its deliberation, the council asked attorney Bill Sims to give them his take on the situation at last Wednesday's meeting. Luckily, Sims provided them with an important history lesson.</p>
<p>"We are here tonight because of our founding fathers," Sims <a href="http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&amp;subsectionID=1&amp;articleID=23670">said</a>. "As the drafters of the Constitution, they were fearful of persecution from both the church and the king."</p>
<p>Sims explained that the courts have sought to find a balance that protects the minority of non-Christian citizens, while permitting the free exercise of religion and maintaining government neutrality.</p>
<p>That's why, when it comes to this cross in question, "The courts have said you must cover it or remove it," he concluded.</p>
<p>It's not what the nearly 70 residents who showed up at the meeting wanted to hear but, maybe, they will realize one day why government neutrality is so important in preserving religious liberty for all.</p>
<p>As the <em><a href="http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&amp;SubSectionID=73&amp;ArticleID=23660">Camp Verde Bugle</a></em> wrote in an editorial:</p>
<p>"Instead of being a moment for vitriolic attacks against the woman who complained about the cross or the town manager who had it removed, this should be a time to celebrate the U.S. Constitution.</p>
<p>"The majority of Camp Verde residents are Christians. That fact does not give the Town authority to approve Christian symbols on its walls; it gives the Town the responsibility of guarding the rights of those who have different beliefs. Those who absolutely refuse to see the point of view of others are doing no favors to their own religion."</p>
<p>We look forward to the council's decision and hope it's the right one.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-mottos-pledges-and-resolutions">Religious Mottos, Pledges and Resolutions</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/arizona">Arizona</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/camp-verde">Camp Verde</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/cross">Cross</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religious-displays-public-land">Religious displays on public land</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religious-displays-public-property">Religious Displays on Public Property</a></span></div></div>Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:38:30 +0000Sandhya Bathija2368 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/camp-controversy-arizona-town-debates-display-of-cross#comments